Of Strobe Lights and Heavy Beats
by Vii Zee
Summary: AU. Sophie's 18, an inexperienced single lesbian, and out with her sister at the strip club. She was not expecting this to happen... Four part fic.
1. Chapter 1

"Sophie, come _on_!" Rosie groaned, grabbing her sister's hand and pulling her towards the strip club.

"Rosie, why do I have to do this?" she asked for the hundredth time, digging the soles of her feet into the gritty parking lot, grinding her teeth in frustration. "I don't get why this is such a big deal!"

"Because you're a lesbian, and there has to be some sort of, like, lesbian ritual of going to a strip club, isn't there?"

Sophie found herself blushing, and hid her face behind a curtain of her hair, putting one hand out to swat at Rosie's still clasped fingers around her wrist. "Yeah but not with your straight sister! That's just weird!"

"But I've always wanted to do this!"

Her foot suddenly gave way, and she tumbled forward right into Rosie's waiting arms. Grinning, her older sister helped her up, and all but pushed her towards the doorway.

"It'll be fun, Sophie! I promise!"

Scoffing, the younger brunette looked up at the sign atop the door. _Circle of Lust_, said the glowing green neon sign, with a large stiletto silhouette right next to it, the heel ending in a trident. She tried to remember where she'd seen a similar design before, but was pushed inside by her sister, who was waving their IDs at the bouncer.

Sophie's eighteenth birthday had been just the week before, and her sister had risen to the opportunity, cancelled all their plans, and picked a day when they would go to the strip club together. After sulking about it for a day, Sophie finally found the courage to turn to her and say 'You are going to pay for this'.

Rosie had simply said, "Oh please! You're eighteen, a lesbian, and you still haven't had a girlfriend! Seriously, Soph, this is going to do you a huge favour!"

Now they were sitting at the bar, and Sophie had a drink in her hand. Rosie was twirling the little umbrella on hers around with her pinky finger, staring around at the people in the bar, and Sophie was hanging her head, trying very hard not to look.

"Oh, come _on_, Sophie! Have some fun!" Rosie chided her, clapping her on the back lightly. "Look around, enjoy yourself! Just don't touch…"

Sophie lifted her head to say something, probably some snide remark, but as soon as her eyes left the drink before her to look at her sister, all words left her mouth. Her eyes never landed on her sister, instead they found something else.

Sitting a way behind Rosie, on her own with her own drink, was a very beautiful blonde. She was sadly looking around, the lights near her on the stage flashing across her face and lighting it up in a way that flattered her, especially her eyes. The hand clasped around her drink was fingering with the beer label, tearing off small pieces and discarding them onto the table, going back for more each time.

"Sophie?"

She barely heard her sister over her concentration and the beating of the bass drum on the club's PA. She was too focused on the blonde, and she couldn't tear her eyes away from her.

Rosie raised an eyebrow and looked behind her, following her sister's gaze and spotting the blonde easily. She turned back around, a sly grin lighting her features, a lazy wink flitting over her face. "She's well pretty, Sophie! Go talk to her!"

"I can't! What if she's straight?" Sophie countered, turning her eyes back to Rosie and resting her chin on her hand, pouting slightly.

"Sophie, she's gay. I mean, you can see it from a mile away!" Rosie countered back, sipping at her drink. "I mean, she might as well have rainbow hair!"

"But how can you tell?"

"I have a gaydar, you know! I've known you were gay for ages before you came out, Sophie! Besides, just…look at her!"

Sophie turned her eyes back to the blonde and narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"Well, watch what happens when that stripper walks by…now!"

A very scantily clad woman passed by, and the mysterious blonde swiveled around in her seat, turning her eyes to stare after the girl as she walked by, her eyes clearly roaming up and down her body. She gave a small grin, her teeth biting at her bottom lip, her eyebrows rising and falling too quickly unless you were paying attention.

"She's gay."

"I dunno, Rosie."

"Do you need another drink to make you feel better?"

"Rosie!"

Nevertheless, she found herself downing another Vodka Coke, courtesy of Rosie, and still staring at the girl a way off. Rosie was chatting up to the bar tender, a handsome young man that Sophie didn't really want to pay attention to, much preferred giving her attention to the girl who she was still too shy to approach.

"Right, I'm going out for some air and a smoke, and when I get back you had better be chatting her up!" Rosie announced to her, kissing her lightly on the forehead before exiting the club, and Sophie gave a sigh, looking up at the bartender.

"Should I do it?" she asked him as he polished a glass. He shrugged.

"Why not? Nothing to lose, mate!" He handed her another drink, winking.

"For luck."

She downed the drink, smiled at him, and got off the stool.

* * *

><p>Her girlfriend had just broken up with her, she was probably failing her classes, and here she was, eighteen and single in a strip club, alone. She looked down at the drink she had been holding, now warm after so many minutes, and the pieces of paper surrounding it. They said that ripping the label off a bottle was a sign of sexual frustration. She had no doubt that this was the case with her.<p>

"Hey." The hot whisper behind her ear, breathing on her neck, startled her, and she jumped up slightly. She didn't turn though, simply froze in her seat and shuddered slightly as the stranger's breath collided with her neck once more, warm on her skin, and a lone finger touched her skin, running down the slope of her neck down to her shoulder, stopping near her collar bone. "Wanna dance?"

She turned around on the seat, staring up at the brunette, and smiled at her.

"And who might you be?" she joked, running her eyes slowly up and down the girl's figure.

"We'll find that out later, yeah? So, you wanna dance?"

"There's nowhere to dance, just talk."

The brunette gave a small laugh and leaned forward, giving Sian a fly grin, and winked. "Well then, we can talk if you like…"

She realized how close she was to her, how very close their body heats were, how she could easily have reached out with her hand and brushed any part of the other girl's body with it.

She didn't push her away.

* * *

><p>When Rosie came back into the club, she was surprised to find her little sister speaking to the elusive blonde, her hand running up and down the other girl's arm expertly, almost dance-like as her fingers flitted over the light skin. The other girl was smiling back at her, flirting back, nonetheless, and obviously very into the conversation, as much as Sophie was. Rosie looked around, and smiled. Had they been in a regular club, they would probably be dancing together by now, their bodies mingling together in a way only people dancing together for the first time could manage. But this atmosphere would have to do…<p>

She watched as the blonde said something that seemed to upset Sophie, and then raised an eyebrow as she handed her a small piece of paper, giving her a wink as she got off her stool. Sophie hastily rose too, almost crashing the stool backwards, her right hand clutching the paper tightly. The two stared at each other for what seemed like forever before, finally, Sophie leaned forward, brushing her lips tentatively against the other girl's. For what felt like forever, nothing happened, and then the blonde reacted, reaching her hand out to cup the back of Sophie's neck, pulling her into a deeper kiss.

For a few minutes, it was just them, connected. Rosie tried to look away, but she was shocked at seeing her little sister, her meek little sister, turn into such a sly, flirty vixen that made the first move. She watched them pull apart, their eyes shining and their cheeks slightly red under the blue lights, and then the blonde walk away with a large grin.

Sophie soon returned to her sister, the shine still evident in her eyes. Rosie nudged her head in the direction of the door. "That went well?"

"Yeah."

"So, that her number."

"Sian."

"Bless you," Rosie joked.

Sophie snapped out of her reverie and looked at her sister, smiling slightly. "No, that's her name. Sian."


	2. Chapter 2

Two weeks passed. Sian never got that phone call, but maybe it was for the best. The brunette wasn't normally what she'd go for, and she still wasn't over Danielle. She didn't want to treat such a nice-looking girl as a rebound, after all. But she hated going out alone, and she found herself being her own best company once again, this time to a dance club.

Her friends had invited her, some people from University. They said it would be great fun, and promised to help her hook up if she really wanted to, but she had said she'd just stay single that night, thank you. They respected that, but she knew they thought of her differently.

And as she watched all her friends go off with some lad or girl, she was alone at the bar again, her fingers still peeling at the glass bottle's label, discarding the small pieces of paper onto the bar's surface.

She gave out a heavy sigh, rubbing at her temples and wishing to God or whoever that alcohol would take its effect for once, and she was just about to give up praying when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

Instinct told her to push and slap and claw. But something at the back of her mind drew in a sharp breath and rejoiced silently. She turned around in her seat and smiled at the girl, glad to see the familiar face.

"Hiya."

"Hi, Sian."

"Sophie, right?" 

"Mm…yeah."

The other girl looked around quickly at the rest of the club, back at Sian, and gave a smile. "Remember my offer from last time?"

The floor was packed, and everybody was lost in their own beat and rhythm. Couples were writhing against each other, singles were thumping their bodies, drinks held up high above their heads. Sian was sure that her friends were somewhere there, but she soon forgot about them, in the light of the girl pulling her right into the centre of it all. Within moments, Sophie's hands – foreign to her body, but somehow more than welcome – were on her hips, and Sian put her hands on the new arms, her fingers delicately brushing against bare skin.

The song was fast, pulsing through her veins with her blood, crawling across her skin. She raised her arms up slightly Sophie's body, gripping at the fabric on her waist and pulling herself closer. Sophie didn't visibly react, merely smiled at her and continued to dance against her. Sian's body developed its own mind the moment Sophie's hips touched against hers, and started to match her movements.

The music was still there, but it had tactfully faded into the background, merely noise. What mattered was that they were chest-to-chest, their hearts beating in time, their foreheads connected, in the middle of a club where the name didn't matter anymore. Nothing did but the feel of another body on hers.

And not just any body. This one, right here, was the most important.

Sophie's hands had found bravery, and roamed down to her ass, looping her thumbs through the belt loops on her jeans, placing her hands in the back pockets. Sian had curled her hands and arms around Sophie's shoulders, somehow pulling her closer, squeezing out any possible space between them, leaving just a sliver of air between their lips.

It was Sian who made the move this time, angling her head to the left and grazing her lips against Sophie's, her hands moving forward to tangle in the brown hair so within their reach. Sophie kissed back, pushing her backwards slightly and catching her with one arm, somehow colliding against a wall. Feverishly, almost frantically, their lips crashed again and again. Sian's hands still in Sophie's hair, while Sophie's were ducking beneath her t-shirt, and running over bare skin, electrical jolts springing between her fingers and Sian's skin.

For how long they kissed, neither could tell, but it was enough that when Sophie's mouth started to kiss at her neck, her tongue leaving wet trails along her skin, Sian was breathless, her head was spinning, and her body was screaming for more.

"Outside" Sian breathed into Sophie's ear, and the two pushed off the wall, barreling through the people to the outside, their hands intertwined the whole time. the air hit them in the face, and Sian suddenly felt dizzy, but Sophie leaned forward and kissed her again, smiling as she did.

Sian pulled away, putting a single finger up to her lips and smiling. "Why didn't you call?"

"I thought it was too good to be true, a girl liking me back. But then I saw you here, and I thought I'd give it a go. The rest…" she gestured lamely at the club, and Sian laughed.

"Call me next time."

"Sure. Or how about we skip all that, and you come home with me for a night cap?"

"Do you think that's a good idea?"

Sophie shrugged and moved backwards a bit, giving Sian some space, putting her hands on her shoulders, rubbing her thumbs in slow, soothing circles into her skin.

"I won't try anything funny, I promise. But if you want to come over for a little bit, grab a cuppa with me and maybe my sister, talk a little bit? I don't live far."

"Where're you from?"

"Weatherfield. What about you?"

"Southport."

"How come we never ran into each other before?" Sophie laughed, leaning forward again and brushing her nose delicately against Sian's, Sian smiling back and closing her eyes.

"I dunno. But I'd love some tea."


	3. Chapter 3

Weatherfield was quiet when Sophie silenced her car in front of her home, clambering out and signaling to Sian to follow her. The other girl did, frowning slightly at the house. It was small, smaller than the one she lived in with her mother.

_Her mother._

She would be worried sick about her!

"I have to let me mum know I'm OK!" she whispered heatedly to Sophie, who looked at her and simply smiled.

"No worries, you can use our phone. Come on in, I'll make you a cuppa."

The door creaked open and Sophie frowned as she tried to be quiet, hoping not to wake her mother, or her –

"Sophie?"

_Well, shit._

"Hi, Rosie," she whispered, giving her her best smile. "Sorry, did we wake you?"

"Nah, I was just coming down for some tea, you want s-" But she stopped mid sentence when she noticed Sian standing behind Sophie, shuffling her feet nervously and giving her a small smile.

"Hiya," she mumbled.

"Rosie, this is Sian."

"Hi, Sian," Rosie nodded, giving her a winning smile (so much like Sophie's, Sian noticed), and turning around to walk into the kitchen, mumbling something about putting the kettle on for three.

Sophie felt a hand grab her arm and turned to look at Sian, whose eyes were wide and her cheeks tinged slightly red. She raised an eyebrow, and in response Sian jerked her head in the direction of the kitchen.

"That's your sister?"

"Yeah."

"She is…wow."

"Hey, I thought you come home with me!" Sophie laughed, slapping Sian's arm away from her gently. Sian crinkled her nose, hanging her head slightly.

"Yeah, but I've never seen boobs like that before!"

"Oh, they're real, hun!" Rosie laughed, clearly over hearing them not being quiet enough. Sophie turned around abruptly, frowning.

"Ro-SIE!"

"Wha'? It's true! And I appreciate the compliment, darling, but I don't play for your team," Rosie laughed, handing Sian a fresh mug. The blonde was still blushing, deciding to bury her face in her tea and stay quiet as the two sisters bickered over the milk and sugar. Sophie gestured towards the sofa, and Sian took this as an invitation to sit, which she did, sinking into the couch pillows and closing her eyes, feeling the warmth of the tea seep into her skin.

Soon, the sofa sank with the extra weight of another person, and she opened one eye to look at Sophie, who was nursing a half empty mug in her own cupped hands.

"Hi."

"Hi," Sian grinned over the rim of her mug, looking around the room. "Your sister left?"

"Went up to bed. Left us alone for a bit," she answered, putting the mug down on the coffee table. "I was thinking we could maybe just talk for a bit?"

"Sure…"

"So who do you live with?"

"Me mum. Me Dad used to live here but I don't see him anymore. He kicked me out when I came out."

"Oh."

"What about you? Who else lives here?"

"Mum. Dad's not in the picture anymore."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's alright. So what about school?"

"I'm at the University now, English and Psychology. What about you? You seem like a smart lass."

"I don't go to school, just work."

"Oh, to each his own, I guess."

A brief silence fell between them, as Sophie finished off her tea and set the mug back on the table. Sian fished her phone out of her pocket, sending a quick text to her mother telling her she was alright, and then returning back to the conversation, a question already on her lips.

"So, tell me, why were you in that strip club that first time?"

Sophie laughed, pointing upstairs with her thumb. "My sister dragged me. Why were you there?"

Sian frowned, her brow crinkling together, a slow sigh issuing from her nose as she thought back to a few weeks ago. The silence returned, colder than when it had first intruded.

"Sian?"

"Yeah uh...I was...let's just say that I let someone get too close to me…" she opted to say, giving a half-noncommittal shrug.

"A lass?"

"Yep. Broke my heart."

"I'm sorry."

"What for?" Sian asked as she looked away from her clenched palms to Sophie, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"We hadn't met sooner..."

She couldn't help herself, really, when she heard that. She pushed forward, their noses touching ever so slightly before their lips did, a small moan growing at the back of her throat. She felt Sophie's hands slowly rake down her own thighs, stopping at her knees where they grasped. Sian pulled her backwards slightly, until she had fallen on top of her, and gave out a content sigh, disconnecting them briefly.

Sophie looked to the side, noting the clock, and frowned.

"It's half past twelve."

"Shit!" Sian almost yelled, but refrained herself and wriggled slightly underneath Sophie's hold, reaching her hand out to get her jacket from its discarded state on the floor.

"I-I best be going, then."

"Wha-why?" Sophie asked, startled, but moving back nonetheless for Sian to get up. She watched her get off the sofa and walk to the door, shrugging her jacket on, looking around for her bag.

"I need to get back to Southport…"

"But it's late!"

"Exactly!"

"Buses don't run late…" Sophie pointed out, resting her head on the back of the sofa, watching Sian slowly turn to her with a small twinkle in her eyes as she considered the options of being stranded in Weatherfield with a girl she had only just met at a bar…

"Where am I supposed to go for the night, then?"

"You could stay here…with me."

"We've only just met, Sophie." But the idea was too delicious to be ignored. It was playing at her mind, and she couldn't help herself as she licked her lips unconsciously, her eyes boring into Sophie's.

A pregnant pause followed that statement, where Sophie could hear the gears in her own mind working away, trying to figure out what to say, how to make this girl stay, how to get her to feel the connection she felt towards her.

"I won't hurt you like that other girl did."

And then she saw it in Sian's eyes. That was what she had wanted to hear all along, the promise of no more heartbreaks, no more lies or treachery. She had caught her in her snare, easily, undoubtedly.

"You sure?"

"I promise."

Sian looked down at the floor, meeting her shoes with her gaze, contemplating the possibilities, ignoring the pounding in chest that was telling her to stay, that was so loud she was sure it could be heard across the street.

"Will you call in the morning?" she finally, feebly asked, raising her eyes again to meet Sophie's brown, heavy orbs, orbs that were drowning her.

"Yeah."

There it was. That one single word that promised her that she would be fine.

She could trust this girl.

"…Alright then."

* * *

><p>They crashed onto Sophie's bed in a flurry of limbs and clothes, articles being shed expertly one by one onto the floor, kisses spreading across Sophie's skin like butterflies as Sian made quick, short work of her jacket, her shirt, her trousers…<p>

"Are you sure about this?" she felt her whisper into her ear, nipping slightly at her lobe as she did, a smile forming on her lips. "Just tell me to stop and I will…"

Sophie was about to answer when she felt a bold, stray hand snake its way up her leg, her thigh, settling on her hips, curling inwards…

"I'm sure."

"I'll be your first."

"_I'm sure_."

In one, swift movement, she curled her legs around Sian's hips and flipped her over, looking down at her now. She gave a sly grin, her hands travelling to the front of Sian's blouse and slowly unbuttoning, one by one, popping the buttons. She leaned down, taking Sian's lips with her own, closing her eyes and feeling the heat radiate off the other girl's body, reveling in it, relishing it.

When she felt Sian's arms scratch their way up to her hair, when she felt her hands bury in her hair, grabbing fistfuls and pulling slightly, she had never felt so alive.

And she had never felt so at home.


	4. Chapter 4

"_I love you, I love you so much…"_

_She had whispered again and again into her ear as she drifted off to sleep, the crooning of a girl who would later break her heart swirling around her ear drums. She was vulnerable, naked, but safe in the arms of someone she loved…_

"Sian?"

She mumbled something incoherently before rolling over to look at Sophie, who was carelessly, absent-mindedly playing with her hair.

"Good morning."

"Mm…"

"Sleep well?"

"The little I did, yeah."

"Were you dreaming?"

She shrugged and rose up onto her elbows, looking down at the brunette next to her, giving her a sweet smile. "Yeah. But it's not important. I have you now."

Sophie didn't question her, instead she just sat up and looked down at her, her face hovering mere millimeters above hers. Sian wanted, so badly, to go back to the previous night, repeat it over and over again. She hadn't felt such security, such passion, in a long time.

"Want breakfast?"

"Yeah, why not."

-0-

"Morning," Sophie grinned at Rosie as they descended the stairs and met her in the kitchen with a bowl of cereal.

"Morning. Have a good night?"

"Yeah..." Sophie answered, trying to hide the blush creeping up her neck. Sian gave a small snort as she sat down at the kitchen table, watching the other girl making two cups of tea.

"Bet you didn't do much sleeping, huh?"

"Ro_sie_!"

"What?! It's true! It's written all over your faces! Besides, you've got a hickey the size of London on your neck!" Rosie grinned as she finished her tea and got up from her chair, walking over to her little sister and poking her in the ribs teasingly.

"Rosie, out of the kitchen. Now."

"Relax, Sophie, I'm only playing."

"Now!"

"Don't do anything nasty on the table! We eat there, you know!" were her parting words as she climbed up the stairs, winking at the two of them before disappearing from sight.

Sophie rolled her eyes and handed Sian her mug, sitting down next to her. "I'm sorry for my sister, again."

"No, it's fine. Really," Sian reassured her, reaching her hand out to brush it against Sophie's cheek, running her thumb over her skin and smiling. "I can't stay long."

"Can't you?"

"I have to go home, catch the first bus to Southport."

Sophie pouted as Sian drank her tea and set the mug on the table, getting up and grabbing her jacket from where she had left it on the sofa the night before. She turned to look at Sophie, who was staring at her leave, and quickly grabbed a piece of paper from the coffee table and a pen. She scribbled something onto it and handed it to Sophie, smiling at her as she did.

"Here. Let me know when you want to meet up again, OK?"

Sophie took the paper without looking at it, and watched her walk out of the door, knowing that she wasn't going to forget the last few hours, ever.

-0-

"Hello?"

"Yeah, hi, I'm looking for a Sian Powers?"

"Speaking."

"Oh, good, thought you'd given me your fake number."

"Now why on earth would I do that?"

"The sex last night wasn't good enough?"

"Oh please!"

"...You still haven't answered my question."

"What?"

"Was the sex good?"

"One step at a time, Sophie."


End file.
